A federal rescission of funds reduces the amount of federal funds provided through previous legislation. All 50 states have been directed to return federal transportation funds to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Rescissions are generally targeted at unobligated funds and allow states to decide what categories of spending to reduce in order to meet the requirements of the rescission. This proved to be true for fiscal years (FY) 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
The FY 2008 and September 30, 2009 rescissions, however, were different. These rescissions provided TxDOT specific dollar amounts to rescind in each eligible transportation category, with the limited flexibility of shifting 10 percent among categories. Money being rescinded had to be equitably divided between different transportation categories, regardless of individual state needs, priorities or obligations.
By reducing the appropriation for the “Equity Bonus” category, the obligation authority also had to be reduced, causing TxDOT to be able to award fewer contracts.
Rescissions
The PDF in the table below shows a breakdown of TxDOT's rescissions each year, and TxDOT's percentage of each nationwide rescission.
| Date | Title | Format |
| 06/22/11 | TxDOT FY 2006 - Anticipated FY 2011 Rescissions of Federal Highway Funds |
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* In February 2010, Congress passed HR 2847 “The HIRE Act” which restored contract authority that was repealed on September 30, 2009. While contract authority was restored, Congress did not provide the corresponding obligation authority necessary to fully restore the equity bonus funds that were stripped.
